Now that we as Christians are partakers of this new and very different covenant, we are called to live different. It is our job to follow the text, wherever it leads. We will now explore what Jesus said and what its implications are in the face of violence.
· Matthew 5:17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
As we have seen in the last section Jesus has come not to simply overwrite the Law or render it obsolete but rather he came to fulfill it. What does he mean by “fulfill the law”? The answer comes right after in Matthew 5:22-48. In this next section Jesus—
- Gives the traditional Old Testament teaching (5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43)
- Jesus’ Contrasting Teaching (5:22, 28, 32, 34a, 39a, 44)
- A Further Explanation of His Teaching (5:23-26, 29-30, 34b-37, 39b-42, 45-47)
Although we can go through each ethical demand of Jesus we will remain on the verses that are most applicable to issues of violence.
· Matthew 5:8:38 "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
The Old Testament taught (Exodus 21:24, Lev 24:20, Deut 19:21) that the punishment must be proportionate to the crime committed. When we read these verses we often picture a violent and harsh scene where justice is demanded in brutality, when the reality is, God told his people to act this way in order to be different than the pagan nations around them. One scholar sheds light on the Old Testament Law—
“The Law says to take an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth (Exodus 21/Matt 5:38). This law serves to guarantee justice in the community, so that if a neighbor knocks out your tooth, you cannot lop ff his head in exchange. Contrary to the way in which this law is commonly understood today, it was originally meant to be merciful, not vindictive; the penalty should fit and not exceed the crime.”[1]
With this in mind we now turn to the three hypothetical and historically grounded situations Jesus addresses.
- (5:39b) A personal dispute that leads to someone slapping someone else.
- (5:40) A legal dispute where one is ordered to give up their under garment, likely in order to satisfy a claim of damages or satisfy a debt
- (5:41) A Roman Soldier forcing a Jew to carry his belongings
All of these three examples would have been relevant to the 1st century Jewish listener. Hitting someone on the right cheek was one of the most insulting things someone could have done during Jesus day in Palestine. In fact, both Jewish and Roman law permitted prosecution for this type of physical insult.[2] Right after Jesus quotes from the Old Testament law he gives his own unique kingdom response. Jesus commands his listeners to not resist an evil person, but to let someone that has insulted you in the most profound of ways (which was a slap on the right cheek in Jesus’ context), to allow them to do it again. It is hard to stress just how counter religious and counter cultural this was within the Jewish and Roman context. This was Jesus’ first command within this section—to be willing to be abused unjustly.
His second example would have also hit home. Many legal disputes ended in someone being ordered to give up their garment for the person wronged. Jesus commands that the kingdom response is to also give them your cloak. A cloak was a more important type of coat that a common Jew would wear. Jesus doesn’t hint at whether or not justice or injustice is being served in the first place in giving the undergarment away. But regardless of whether one should give his undergarment, one should continue and offer the more important part of the Jewish attire, the coat. He tells all those listening to be willing to give more than is demanded of you. This might seem an arbitrary command in the 21st century, but for a Jewish commoner that was very poor, it means a great deal to loose a coat.
The third and final command is to go the extra mile with someone. The Romans occupied Israel during Jesus’ day. When a Roman soldier had to travel from one location to another they would sometimes single out a Jewish person along the road to carry their things. The soldiers of the time actually had the legal right to demand such service.[3] Jesus teaches his followers that the kingdom reaction isn’t to run away or simply go one mile but to take the enemies things and carry them even further. Both the Jewish revolutionaries (Zealots) that wanted to overthrow Rome and the common Jew would have seen this commandment as extreme.
· Matthew5:43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
The command to love ones neighbor in Lev 19:18 is speaking about loving a Jewish neighbor within the Israeli community. There is no Old Testament command to hate one’s enemy at all. The Jewish leaders probably intensified the Old Testament teaching in the wrong way during the silent years (400 years between the Old and New Testament) and that is the reason Jesus believes the saying is normative in his day. A bitterness and hatred would have been developing over time as the Israelites were awaiting the Messiah.[4] Jesus provides a new way of dealing with not only our own people, but also our enemies. He calls us to love them and pray for them. He tells us to do those things in order that we may be sons of the Father. This is one of the hardest and extreme commands Jesus teaches. We need to be willing to love everyone with the same measure of love that Jesus showed, even those that are our enemies. In the same way that God doesn’t show partiality and causes the sun and rain to fall of both evil and the good, we are called to love those who don’t seem to deserve or be worthy of our love.
[1] Bart Ehrman, The New Testament, Pg 93
[2] Criag Keener, Bible Background Commentary New Testament, Pg 60
[3] We see a Jewish man being forced to help Jesus carry his cross in the gospels (Mark 15:21).
[4] We know for certain the Qumran community had a distain for those outside of the true Jewish community. Harrington writes, “In the Qumran scrolls there are directives to “hate all the sons of darkness” (1QS 1:10) and “everlasting hatred for all the men of the Pit” (1QS 9:21).” Daniel J. Harrington, Sacra Pagina: Gospel of Matthew, Pg 89
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